Two titans of the Eastern Conference go head to head on Thursday night when the Pens and Caps meet for the final time for the regular season.

The two split their first four games of the season and are two of the favourites to come out of the East in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh

This has been a tale of two seasons for the Penguins. They started off the season as one of the odds-on favorites to blow the Eastern Conference away, thanks to the addition of Phil Kessel to complete one of the most potent attacks in the NHL.

That was not to be however as the Pens struggled out of the gate and fired head coach Mike Johnston. Enter new bench Mike Sullivan and the Penguins have been picking up steam ever since.

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Whether their turnaround can be pointed to the coaching change is up for debate, but certainly Sidney Crosby’s play has been a huge factor.

Sid was slow out of the starting blocks and as a result the team struggled. Fast forward to present day and Crosby is third in league scoring with 84 points after registering just 15 points in October and November combined.

The health of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has to be a concern for this team though heading into the post season as unproven netminder Matt Murray has just 11 NHL games to his name, though they are impressive with a record of 8-2-1.

Fleury is out indefinitely with a concussion and the reins are Murray’s for the time being.

Washington

The Caps have done, by all accounts, what most thought Pittsburgh would do this year, and that is be absolutely dominant from wire to wire.

Washington has put together one of the best seasons by any NHL team in recent memory and are a staggering 12 points clear in the President’s Trophy race and it feels like they’ve had not only a playoff spot, but the Eastern Conference clinched for months.

At 117 points with three games remaining, the Caps could set the highest single season point total of the last 10 years, by breaking their own record of 121 set in 2009-10.

What isn’t there to like about this team? They’re deep up front even with Niklas Backstrom on the mend, and they have a boatload of talented young defenceman.

The Caps don’t really have a lot to play for since they’ve already locked up home ice throughout the playoffs, but against a division opponent that smashed them 6-2 the last time they met, the Caps are going to want to get some confidence against a team that could stand in their way come post-season.

4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Capital -130.

Washington was shelled last time out and the Penguins just keep scoring. Washington will need to play a solid defensive game to win. I think Murray is due to get beat up a bit by a team that can torch anyone.

NHL Free Score Prediction: Washington 4 – Pittsburgh 2

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About Matt Durnan

A (self-proclaimed) fantasy sports guru since 2004 and a journalist since 2007. He has been offering unsolicited sports gambling advice to his circle of friends for years and has now put himself at the mercy of online readers everywhere. "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how much fun you have"... His hockey coach told him that when he was 7. His team lost every game that year.